Michael Black: The truck driving dog 05-05-2008

Published 7:00 pm, Sunday, May 4, 2008

Do you ever notice that sometimes when you're driving that you end up where you were going but you don't remember getting there? I've heard it said that it's at these times that our subconscious has taken over the driving, which has the potential to be good or bad. For me it turned out to be, well, let's just say interesting.

I was out riding the other day checking on our work sites in Lamb and Castro counties. On my way back to Plainview I found myself behind an old, beat-up pickup, going at least 10 miles under the posted speed limit. On most of these back roads this is a common occurrence, but to me it was an annoyance. Every time I tried to pass the truck it seemed to drift over, making it impossible to pass safely.

After several miles of this I realized that the driver was doing me a favor. What I couldn't see was that there were cattle trucks coming toward us and the driver knew I would not have been able to make the pass. Finally, the truck pulled over and allowed me to pass. As I pulled up along side the truck to thank him for letting me by, I noticed something odd.

There was a dog in the truck  and it was driving. Yes, I saw a dog in a moving truck with both front paws on the steering wheel. And as I passed he seemed to give me a head nod, the kind you give when you don't want to raise your hand. Being startled, I slowed down to get another look. And yes, it was a black and white, long-haired half-heeler and mix driving an old, beat-up truck.

Realizing this can't be true, I had to get another look. So I went ahead and passed and looked again, this time out my rearview mirror. Then I saw him. There was an old man with a dog in his lap. For a moment I laughed at myself for thinking a dog could drive a truck.

And that's when it happened  my subconscious took over. I couldn't get that image of a dog driving a truck out of my mind. I began to wonder, was the dog really in control and was he using the man to operate the gas and brakes? If the dog and I stopped, what would we talk about? Would he tell me that he was just giving the man a lift and that he picked him up on the road a piece back? Or that they worked together?

My mind went on like this for at least 10 minutes  what if this, what if that? I even caught myself thinking, "You know, this dog doesn't even have an accent." Why a dog would have an accent is a mystery to me, but I'm sure he didn't, I mean wouldn't, have one. I didn't really talk to the dog. I just saw him driving and thought about what it would be like to talk to him.

Because I know dogs can't talk, but they can drive.

(Michael Black is director of MR services at Tommy Lewis Industries and associate minister at Rehoboth Christian Worship Center. Contact him at michaelb@clplains.org)